Harold Ray Wade v. United States
Decided May 18, 1992. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 91-5771 · 504 U.S. 181 (1992) · Cited 1,295 times
Holding
The forced administration of antipsychotic medication during Riggins’ trial violated rights guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 9–0.
Majority · 9
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Chapman v. United States · 500 U.S. 453 (1991)
- Santobello v. New York · 404 U.S. 257 (1971)
- City of New Orleans v. Dukes · 427 U.S. 297 (1976)
- Wayte v. United States · 470 U.S. 598 (1985)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- United States v. Armstrong · 517 U.S. 456 (1996)
- Melendez v. United States · 518 U.S. 120 (1996)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).